All summer I had not seen one Monarch butterfly. Not one.
Each year, there seem to be fewer and fewer of them.
But, on Sunday, I finally saw one. It wasn't close to me but I wasn't going to run after it. That's why it seems so small. There's only so much I can zoom in using my iPhone 13 mini.
Monarch on Milkweed.
Celebration, with a sigh of relief.
Joining Sandee at Comedy Plus for her #WordlessWednesday.
Surprising myself, I have now (mostly) stayed off of social media (not counting blogging) for a little over three weeks with some minor exceptions.
Unfortunately, I don't think I can maintain the break (at least for Facebook) that much longer. Right now, I am waiting on more word re a Facebook friend and a real life friend, both of whom are facing various challenges that I want to keep up to date with.
I also am checking in twice a week with a private group on Facebook that I belong to.
But when I am on Facebook the urge to click on this post or that post can get a bit overwhelming. The social media sites know all too well how to keep drawing you in.
So, why am I keeping the break up? Seems I have a lot more time available for other things when I'm not busy doomscrolling on X, or being distracted by this and that on Facebook. Fortunately, I had never developed addictions to Pinterest and I haven't been on Insta for two or three years.
Yes, I said it - addiction.
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| Banner Year for Mophead Hydrangeas (not mine) |
And a major time suck. Time I could be spending taking pictures of flowers, for example.
I don't miss X at all. It had become too much of a cesspool, although I tried to cling to some of the sane accounts (like that of the U.S. National Park Service, who has a genuine comedian running it). I miss some of the (sane) people I've followed. Yet, it's not good for my mental health.
So, if you follow me on social media and are wondering why I don't seem to visit you anymore, it isn't that at all. I am not ignoring you. I still like you.
As the saying goes, it's not you. It's me.
Let's see how much longer this break lasts.
It's Monday and it's time for music.
Today I am joining up with other Music Moves Me bloggers, a group of music loving bloggers who blog about music each Sunday or Monday (or even later in the week). If you have music to share with us, you are most welcome to join! (Music Posts Only-meaning at least one music video, please! Otherwise, your post may be labeled "No Music".) Our head host is Xmas Dolly, and our co-hosts are Cathy from Curious as a Cathy, joined by the knowledgeable Stacy of Stacy Uncorked and, last but not least, me.
Every
other week, we have a theme. On alternate weeks, we can blog on any
music theme we want. This week's theme is "Songs that Make You Think about Being in Nature or Outdoors". I'm going to take a slightly different tack with this theme because of one of the July themes about outdoor activites such as sports
Songs about the ecology come to mind. Let's start with several.
World Party and Ship of Fools (Save Me From Tomorrow) from 1987. I hadn't been aware that the writer and singer of this song, Karl Wallinger, had passed in March from a stroke at the age of 66. World Party had started as a one-man band, with Karl singing and playing the instruments. I love this song so.
I've had this on my blog before but I love the group Leonid and Friends. Here's their cover of the Chicago classic Saturday in the Park.
Creedence Clearwater Revival and Green River.
Moon River, a song from my childhood, lyrics by Johnny Mercer, music by Henry Mancini. There's such a lot of world to see....
But returning to the ecology one last time to end our set: One of my favorite Three Dog Night songs "Out in the Country".
And that's a wrap!
Join me again for another episode of Music Moves Me.
I was saddened to see that the jokes I had seen written in chalk recently on the Vestal Rail Trail and Otsiningo Park were wiped clean by this month's rainstorms. But, due to popular demand, I have another one for you.
What do you call a paper airplane that can't fly?
Stationary.
Joining Lisa at Lisa's Garden Adventures this week for her Shadowshot Sunday.
Back in early July, I did a Wordless Wednesday post on a Manx farm cat named Sassy. She lives at a You Pick blueberry farm we have frequented for years.
Wednesday we visited for our last picking of the year, and I have some more pictures to share with you. This time, unlike last time, I was able to get some with her face.
This tailless trait, sadly, can lead to something called Manx syndrome – a collection of
birth defects showing up in kittenhood that can include urinary tract problems and a shortened spine, or even spina bifuda. Cats
with Manx syndrome rarely live beyond three or four years, I've read. Some
also have issues with their eyes. There is a lot of discussion online about the ethics of continuing to breed this type of cat as a result.
This cat is well loved, and friendly. It's in a good farm home, where it can exercise the breed's skill as great mousers.
Reading more about the breed, I'm of mixed feelings, If the tailless trait was bred out, would they no longer have the problems such as Manx syndrome caused by the shortened spine? They don't seem to have balance problems with the lack of a tail, but there is Manx syndrome to consider. Also, cats communicate with their tails.
But, with a tail, would we humans still desire them?
Sassy, you have led me to educate myself more about your breed.
Like sand through the hourglass (or is it water?)....
....so are the days of our rain. This has been one rainy summer and now what is left of Hurricane/Tropical Storm Debby is approaching our area. So far we have escaped the large rain totals and flooding of other parts of the East Coast, but it's a bit nerve wracking nevertheless due to all the rain we've already receive this year.
This rain is not from Debby.
Along the margins of the trail are interesting long, narrow puddles.
One of the downed trees from the storm we had on Monday.
The weather reports seem to indicate Western New York will be hit harder than us, but all we can do is wait and see.
Joining Yogi and other skywatchers each week for #SkywatchFriday.
We've had an interesting summer here in New York State. Tornadoes, up to now, have been rare, but they are becoming more common. When I lived in the tornado belt back in the 1970's and 1980's (Texas, Kansas, Arkansas) I was fortunate enough not to witness one but I came pretty close, close enough that tornado sirens sounded around 3 or 4am and we hid in a bathtub. I also knew at least two people who had survived a tornado when I lived in Kansas.
Well....
Monday, we had a severe thunderstorm with many trees down, especially, it would seem, in the Town of Vestal. Other parts of New York State were not so fortunate, as a tornado was confirmed in downtown Buffalo, New York. You can see a funnel at about 1:39 in this video. Not sure if that funnel was the confirmed tornado.
It's not just this year - there was a confirmed EF-0 tornado in our county on August 5, 2023, exactly one year before.
I took these pictures yesterday along the Vestal Rail Trail, where we exercise walk a couple of times a week. My spouse exercised there yesterday, while I was working, and saw a tree lying on top of a bench. He didn't take a picture but that could have ended tragically for someone if anyone was caught on the trail when the storm started.
In various spots, there was evidence of straight line winds flattening plants along one side of the trail.
Hard to see, but there was a tree down in a backyard along the trail. I took this picture through brush of more storm damage on the same side of the trail as the tree above.
I truly don't understand how anyone can still consider climate change as a myth. I know that people I've spoken to, such as a tree service man and farmers, all agree something is happening and it isn't good.
These aren't the tornadoes those living where I lived years ago have experienced but perhaps it's only a matter of time.
Seen, on Sunday, at a farm market.
As far as I'm concerned, NO. Summer still has about six weeks to go - weeks hopefully filled with fresh veggies, cantaloupes, watermelons, plums, peaches....
I just am not ready for pumpkins and winter squash yet. Or pumpkin spice. Or pumpkin anything. Or even Halloween accessories.
What about you?
Joining Sandee at Comedy Plus for her #WordlessWednesday.
It's Monday, and it's time for music!
Today I join up with other Music Moves Me bloggers, a group of music loving bloggers who blog about music each Sunday or Monday (or even later in the week). If you have music to share with us, you are most welcome to join! (Music Posts Only-meaning at least one music video, please! Otherwise, your post may be labeled "No Music".) Our head host is Xmas Dolly, and our co-hosts are Cathy from Curious as a Cathy, joined by the knowledgeable Stacy of Stacy Uncorked and, last but not least, me.
Every other week, we have a theme. On alternate weeks, we can blog on any music theme we want. This week's theme is "Your Choice of Music".
I'm picking, this week, music from the genre of "Yacht Rock". It's generally accepted, I believe, that yacht rock encompasses certain songs recorded between 1976 and 1984 (but it can include songs from other eras) with a certain smoothness and lightness. It's music you could listen to on a yacht (never mind that I've never even been close to a yacht) or some other kind of ship.
You'll be so relaxed at the end of this set that you won't even want to get off the ship.
Perhaps the song I most associate with Yacht Rock is this 1979 song from Christopher Cross - Sailing.
Boz Skaggs and Lido Shuffle, a 1977 hit my spouse and I both loved so much that we ran out and bought the Silk Degrees album. I wish I still had that album.
Seals and Crofts and Diamond Girl, from 1973.
Jackson Browne's last top 10 hit, Somebody's Baby.
Finally, I hope you have enough time to listen to this classic, one of my favorite songs of all time: Al Stewart and Year of the Cat. The lyrics of this song are so beautiful and so is the music. Strings, sax, guitar - what is there not to love?
And that's a relaxing wrap!
Join me again next week with another episode of Music Moves Me.
Over the last three or so weeks, someone has been chalking punny jokes on at least a couple of our walking trails. I saw this one on the Vestal Rail Trail yesterday.
Unfortunately, to get these in the frame took some doing because of how far they stretch, and the Trail is busy on Saturdays. So you'll have to take my word for it.
The first picture has the shadows. I didn't want to leave you in the dark for the punny punchline just because some pictures didn't have shadows.
You can barely see, written on the upper edge of the trail, "Whats the best thing about Switzerland?"
" ...but their flag is a huge plus." (If you or anyone you know is connected to Switzerland, please accept my apologies....)
The pun was the third punny joke of three. Maybe I should ask if you want to see any more of them.
Joining Lisa at Lisa's Garden Adventures for her #ShadowshotSunday.
And, speaking of Lisa, thank you, Lisa, for the link you sent me for possibilities for our Mystery Bird in the Backyard. My spouse, who is a keener observer of size than I am, is still thinking the bird is larger than a sparrow, but we certainly could be wrong. I enjoyed seeing pictures of sparrows that we don't have, plus the ones we do have. If any other of my Sunday readers are birders, could you take a quick look at my post from yesterday? Thanks!
This weekend, the major festival in our area, the Spiediefest, is taking place in a Binghamton park. Thus begins an August full of music and other festivals.
The Spiediefest is a festival celebrating our regional food (spiedies), hot air balloons, and music. But this year I just wanted to avoid crowds and the hot (for us), sticky weather.
What's a spiedie, you ask? Find out here.
We aren't going this year but here are some memories of past years.
As for us, we took a walk on the Vestal Rail Trail.
A little further along two giant black birds exploded from a tree and flew away, crying. These were about American crow sized but their cries were not "caw" cries but guttural, deep in the throat cries. We believe they were common ravens but Merlin (a bird app) says they are not common where we live in the Southern Tier of New York. We'd better study up on differences between American crows and common ravens. (No pictures).
Finally, for any of my readers who are experienced birders, we have a mystery bird who has shown up twice in our yard this week, on July 31 and again August 2.
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| This small orange dish is meant to put a half orange in but it had sunflower seeds in it July 30 |
The first time we saw it it was hanging upside down from the left curled metal stretching and pecking at the pictured seedcake while a male Northern cardinal fed from a dish nearby. When the cardinal left the mystery bird went to the dish. My spouse took two pictures through a window, which are not good and won't help anyone except you can see the striped head (sort of) in the first picture above.
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| Mystery bird again perched on that small orange dish |
I wish we had our Wild Birds Unlimited store to run to and ask.
What was distinctive to us were the stripes on the head, which reminded me of the head of certain sparrows but this bird seemed larger than a sparrow and, with my limited knowledge of birds, sparrows wouldn't feed that way, anyway. (Kindly correct me if I'm wrong but we do see white throated sparrows and song sparrows at certain times of year and they always seem to feed from the ground.)
We've tried to identify from Merlin and a Sibley guide but are having little luck. Any educated guesses out there?
Thank you in advance.
It's been almost two weeks since I saw this wonderful sunset.
Let's set the scene, but first, let's look at this split sun as a cloud obscures some of the view.
Getting closer to the horizon.
Somewhere off the shore of Essex County, Massachusetts, the sun was kissing the horizon.
Joining Yogi and other skywatchers once again for #SkywatchFriday.
At lunchtime on Tuesday, July 30, spouse and I were out for a neighborhood walk on my work lunch break (I work remotely about 99% of the time) when I heard it.
No, it was them. Them being - crickets.
Summer unofficially has ended.
The first crickets of 2024 have sung. Fall has arrived.
Then I heard them again while walking after work. Unlike some years, there was no doubt. Definitely crickets As I sit outside, I am hearing them now.
Tuesday joins this list of first hearing dates of crickets I've accumulated during my years of blogging. As you can see from this list, since 2009, there have been few first hearings this late, which surprises me a little, given the early spring we had. Each date has a link to that year's post.
My blog, with the Garden Bloggers Bloom Day meme I participate in each 15th of the month, has become a kind of garden journal. I'm no good at diaries or journals, but blogging is something I do keep up with. For now, anyway.
So, what does this pattern of dates mean? Not much, perhaps. But it is a way to track the weather - and nature.
As I blogged in 2022:
We all are called by Nature in some way. The trees know when to drop their leaves and sprout new leaves in spring. The migrating birds of our area know (although climate change is messing up these signals, sadly, especially in spring) when to leave for their true homes. I never realized varous of our birds just summer here to breed.
Now, I hear the call of the crickets. It may make me sad to know summer is fleeting, but it's all the more reason to live each day in the moment.
And, speaking of summer - I hope my readers are staying cool.
Maybe I'll even be able to take a cricket picture one day.
Garden Bloggers Bloom Day won't come around until August 15, but my flowers won't wait. For your summer enjoyment, let's call this a mid-month check in on the last day of July.
These flowers will be gone by then. I took these pictures Saturday.
Cardinal flower, a native We got this at a wildflower nursery in Ithaca, New York.
One of our remaining day lilies from Saturday.
More day lilies, please. They are almost gone.
Let's not forget the pinks. These are pink gladiolus, which I call my miracle flower because they aren't supposed to be hardy here. But, I've never dug these up. These are several years old and they get better each year.
My best pink tall phlox ever.
Last but not least. These should be around the rest of this summer - globe amaranth.
Joining Sandee at Comedy Plus for her #WordlessWednesday.
Sometimes, I feel like a lumbering dinosaur, refusing to adopt the latest and greatest. My motto is "just because it's possible doesn't mean it's a good idea."
But sometimes it is a good idea.
My regular readers know that I've been a member of Weight Watchers (WW) since 2012 (with a two year break at one point of time). It's been a successful program for me.
Part of the program from its beginnings in the 20th century were meetings (nowadays called Workshops) moderated by a leader (nowadays called a Coach). Before the days of Skype and Zoom these meetings were all in person. During Covid they went remote and Weight Watchers has since embraced the concept of remote meetings.
The downside? In the "old days" you could go out for coffee after meetings with participants you clicked with. You could exchange recipes and tips. Sometimes, friendships were formed. Even if they didn't, you were interacting with real people.
Somewhere along the line, Weight Watchers introduced a social media component in their app called Connect, for members only. It never appealed to me. I don't need more social media than I already have. In fact I'm trying to cut back. I took the last 10 days or so as a complete blogging break and I also did not go on social media during the break until yesterday.
Know what? I didn't even miss the social media although I would have long term, especially as I learn friend and family news (both mine and my spouse's) through Facebook.
This past May, WW introduced a chat function on their tracking app. The chat groups are private, and moderated. I lurked from time to time but didn't use the chat. Until this past Sunday.
And then....but let me back up first.
When I started WW in 2012, I'm not even sure I used an app. The way their current points system works, that's just about impossible now. If you try to use the website to track you are encouraged to use the app. It's harder to do using paper and pencil, which is too bad.
When I first read about it in an email. I wondered: why are we pushed to use social media and apps to communicate? What ever happened to just regular communication and not communication in the virtual world? Of course, I use email and have since around 1997.
Well, without that chat I wouldn't have found out that my WW coach, a WW member for over 30 years and a coach for over 20 (I think), had left suddenly. We don't know why but we do know WW has been changing directions for a year or more. This is not a place to discuss this, but I wonder what happened to make a longtime employee of the organization quit.
The people in the meetings she moderated are wondering that also. There is a lot of heartbreak - it's obvious that our coach touched the lives of many of us. I'm one of them.
Sometimes it's good to be old fashioned.
But it's also good to embrace change and technology. Email, for me, is wonderful. Chat has its place, too. I was able to get in touch with my now-former coach and thank her. Thank you, chat.
Meanwhile, I am back from my blogging break, but still not sure about my blogging schedule going forward. I will probably blog daily this week. After that, I'm still not sure.
Whatever I decide, I thank you, my reader, for sticking with me.
It's Monday, it's time for music, and I'm back from my blogging and social media break.
So, who are the Music Moves Me bloggers? Well, we are a group of music loving bloggers who blog about music each Sunday or Monday and if you have music to share with us, you are most welcome to join! (Music Posts Only-meaning at least one music video, please! Otherwise, your post may be labeled "No Music".) Our head host is Xmas Dolly, and our co-hosts are Cathy from Curious as a Cathy, joined by the knowledgeable Stacy of Stacy Uncorked and, last but not least, me.
Every
other week, we have a theme. On alternate weeks, we can blog on any
music theme we want. This week's theme is "songs about a tropical paradise". No, I wasn't in a tropical paradise during my time off but it's still a great theme for this time of the year.
I'll begin with Jimmy's classic 1977 hit Margaritaville. Written by Jimmy, who wrote it in a Mexican restaurant in Austin, Texas.
Kingston Love from UB40. This video is a bit blurry but I liked its beginning.
I heard this song a couple of times last week. I am not sure of its origins but I remembered that Harry Belafonte did it. Not everything in the tropical paradise is paradise, as this light flavored calypso song sings about. Here's Matilda, a song which may have its origins back in the 1930's. Belafonte recorded it twice, in 1953 and then a remake in 1955.
I will end with possibly the best known Weezer song - from 2001, Island in the Sun.
And that's a wrap.
I kept this a little short because I think we all want to get back to dreaming of tropical islands - except, maybe, I will wait until winter for that dreaming. Just think, with snow falling around me, dreaming of different changes in latitude. I'm in no rush, though.
Join me again next week for another episode of Music Moves Me.
Yes, it's Thursday, not Friday, but today I am joining up with Yogi's SkywatchFriday later today when he posts the link (Link now below).
This will be my last blog posting until around July 29, as I am taking a break from blogging and most social media.
These sky pictures are from July 12. They are the same sky but different viewpoints taken during a trip to our community garden plot.
There was so much going on over the time we were there.
Remember, always look up!
I will next be posting for Skywatch in early August.
Joining Yogi and other skywatchers for #SkywatchFriday.
Thank you, all who commented on my post yesterday announcing a blogging break starting Friday. I appreciate your support. I will not be participating in #WordlessWednesday next week
Three insect pictures for your consideration. Please bear with me and my iPhone.
In the first picture I saw this bee with a spot on its back on a sweet pea flower (right center of picture)in my yard. It's not a great shot to identify the bee with but I noticed a spot on its back. From what I can find online this may be a female common bumble bee.
Back on June 30 spouse and I were admiring fireflies (perhaps you call them lightning bugs or lightning beetles) in our back yard. I wondered if I could take nighttime pictures of them. I doubted it because they blink on and off. What my iPhone 13 mini did puzzled me but some quick research told me the camera had automatically shifted into something called Night Mode and applied a one second apeture opening. Since my phone wasn't on a tripod the fireflies just show as streaks. I applied a B&W filter (Black and white) which I hoped made the points of light more visible. The fireflies appear as white dots in the photo.
Here's another attempt. I left this one in color and, again, the white specs are fireflies. found out, after the fact, that I could have made a time lapse video instead but that may have come out even worse. I really need to study iPhone photography.
My next Wordless Wednesday post will be on July 31.
Joining up with Sandee at Comedy Plus for #WordlessWednesday.
For some time, I have been thinking of taking a blogging break. I've been blogging daily since the beginning of May, 2011, although one of my posts from 2014 was removed (long after the fact) by what I suspect was a glitch as "not meeting community standards". It was a post about inventions that changed the 20th century. I've never bothered trying to get it reinstated.
But now, I feel I need a break.
I will most probably be off of social media, too, including reading other blogs.
My break will begin on Friday, July 19 and extend until around July 28.
For this week, my normal Wordless Wednesday will post tomorrow. My Skywatch Friday post this week will post on Thursday. And then, that's it until the end of July.
And yes, I will enjoy every minute of this break.
After I return to blogging, I don't know for sure if I will resume daily blogging, but I do intend to continue posting at least four four times a week: Mondays (Music Moves Me), Wednesdays (Wordless Wednesday), Fridays (SkywatchFriday), and Sundays (Shadowshot Sunday) plus the 15th of the month (Garden Bloggers Bloom Day). We'll see how I feel about it after the break.
At one time, the posting daily mattered to me. It no longer does although I'll feel some sadness in having a blogging streak this long end. My original reason for doing it daily disappeared several years ago and, in the last several months, it's lost much of its enjoyment. I feel myself slowing down.
I hope I return to blogging refreshed.
